Category: Today in the News

Promulgated last week by Romania’s President, Traian Basescu, the law on the modification of the Romanian MPs’ statute has come into force, after having been previously passed by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in compliance with the decision of the Constitutional Court. Before the law was passed, the Court had repeatedly singled out a number of non-conformities with the Constitution.

But let’s look at some of the modifications laid down in the new MP statute. Prosecutors no longer need to provide reasons for their requests to detain, hold in temporary arrest and search MPs.

Another major change is related to the limitation of flights and trips abroad. Expenses have also been cut, by halving the sums allocated for the accommodation of senators and deputies who do not reside in Bucharest. Wednesday was therefore the last night the Romanian MPs spent in hotels, which received almost 1,800 euros per month from the state budget for the services provided. From now on MPs will have to rent an apartment or negotiate hotel accommodation on their own or as a group, as the state will from now on only reimburse them for half the sum they have been receiving so far. So the costs of accommodation in Bucharest for an MP during the parliamentary session will stand at about 900 euros per month.

As for the expenses made during parliamentary holidays when many MPs claim they travel to their constituencies to solve local problems, only expenses incurred for a period of 8 days will from now on be reimbursed, as compared to 15 days previously.

Also, if MPs no longer use the cars provided by the state, they will receive around 225 euros for transport. This will save Parliament a lot of trouble related to car repair and maintenance and criticism over the purchase of hundreds of new cars for MPs, irrespective of their activity and position.

The new MP statute also includes modifications related to how the money earmarked for the running of MPs’ office is used and accounted for. MPs are now obliged to account for 50% of the lump sum received as compared to the previous 46%.

Romania and the Russian Federation have expressed a joint interest in revitalizing bilateral relations, which over the last years have been stalling, in the absence of a high-level political dialogue. This is but one of the many conclusions of the latest visit of Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean to Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This was the first visit after the signing of the Romanian-Russian political treaty ten days ago and the first since Romania’s accession to NATO and the European Union. The meeting was aimed at breathing new life into bilateral relations, according to Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean:

“Together with my colleague Sergey Lavrov we agreed that the cooperation potential at the level of Romanian-Russian relations has not been fully capitalised on. There are good prospects for improving relations between our countries. I have pointed out that by means of consistent political dialogue we may be able to boost economic cooperation and support other areas of shared interest”.

Titus Corlatean went on to say that the meeting was necessary in order to set a solid economic agenda that would benefit both sides, considering that two-way trade stood at 4.4 billion dollars in 2012, with Romanian exports accounting for merely 1.3 billion. In turn Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said to Russia Romania was an important partner in southeastern Europe. The two officials signed a series of bilateral documents, the most important of which provides for opening the Romanian Cultural Institute in Moscow and the Russia Scientific and Cultural Centre in Bucharest, as well as an intergovernmental program regarding cooperation in such fields as culture, media, sports and tourism. Furthermore, Titus Corlatean raised the question of opening direct negotiations with Russia regarding gas exports to Romania with a view to obtaining a better price.

Last year Romania imported close to a quarter of its internal gas consumption from the Russian energy company Gazprom through the agency of partner companies. These third parties sell gas to Romania at three times the price of gas produced at home. A sensitive issue in the relation with Russia is the question of the Romanian state treasury, which our country sent for safekeeping to Moscow in 1917 during World War 1, a treasure that has never been returned in full to Romania. In that respect Minister Corlatean said the Russian side agreed to set a clear timetable for the joint committee responsible for dealing with historical problems, including the Romanian treasury.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Iurie Leanca, paid a surprise visit to Bucharest, the first since his appointment as head of the government in Chisinau. He met in the Romanian capital his counterpart Victor Ponta, whom he invited to attend on August 27th, the day when the Republic of Moldova celebrates its independence from the USSR, won back in 1991, the start of constructions works on the Iasi — Ungheni gas pipe line, which will link the two neighbouring countries. The European Commissioner for Energy, Guenther Oettinger is expected to attend the event. Prime Minister Iurie Leanca:

“ I am convinced that that the talks we’ve had will allow us to start the building of the Iasi — Ungheni gas pipe line on August 27th, when we celebrate in Chisinau our Independence Day, in the presence of the Romanian Prime Minister and of the EU Commissioner for Energy.”

Besides the energy connection between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, which will provide Moldova with an alternative to the energy sources in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the two officials also discussed the rebuilding of bridges over the Prut River, which were destroyed during WWII. These projects could be analyzed during the next joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments.

Continuing the tradition of good relations between the two countries, given that 65% of Moldova’s population is Romanian speaking, Prime Ministers Ponta and Leanca agreed that the relations between the two countries must pass from beautiful declarations, which have been plenty in the past 20 years, to concrete things. In another move, the head of the Romanian Government reiterated Romania’s firm support for Moldova’s European integration efforts. Prime Minister Victor Ponta:

The EU summit in Vilnius this fall will be an extremely important moment, and I am absolutely convinced that for the Republic of Moldova, the decisions made by the EU will be the best possible ones.”

At the summit hosted by the capital of Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova hopes to get the EU Association Agreement signed and to start talks for a new stage in the liberalization of visa granting. According to both Iurie Leanca and Victor Potna, the talks in Bucharest were pragmatic and proved the existence of common views that will continue to consolidate the relation between the two neighboring countries.

Egypt is these days dramatically split. On the one hand, there are the supporters of Mohamad Morsi, the president ousted last week, coordinated by the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group. On the other hand there are those who protested for days in a row in the Tahrir Square, in Cairo, against the way in which Morsi led the country in his first year of office. They are supported by the army, whose influence in running the country is already well-known.

Could the Ramadan, which has just started, ease tensions in the coming 30 days? Many say it won’t. The Muslim Brotherhood might actually increase violence against those who ousted their president, and the army might retaliate. The Islamists have already urged the people to revolt against those who are trying — they say — to steal their revolution with tanks and have called on the international community to intervene in order to prevent massacres, as it happened early this week, when dozens of people were killed.

The high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton has stated that provocations and any escalation of violence must be prevented. In Bucharest, the State Secretary for Global Affairs with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Mihail Dobre, has received Mrs. Laila Ahmed Bahaa El Din, Egypt’s ambassador to Romania, at her request. The communiqué issued after the meeting reads that the Egyptian ambassador talked about the latest developments in her country and stressed the complexity of the situation in that country in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. She also highlighted the difficulties facing the Egyptian authorities these days, which have to form an interim government and at the same time make efforts to continue the democratic transformation of the country.

According to the same communiqué, the Romanian Foreign Ministry deplores the many human lives lost in the past days and condemns any form of violence. Dialogue, not confrontation, is the solution to ensuring the success of the democratic project. That is why Romania hopes that constitutional order is restored in Egypt soon, through new elections, and that the democratic transition process is resumed as soon as possible. The stake is way bigger than the situation of Egypt, as the country is a key factor in maintaining peace, security and economic development in the Mediterranean region, in the north of Africa and the Middle East. Therefore, Egypt’s stability and security are crucial for the stability and security of the region, reads the communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry.

Over 60% of twelve grads and 30% of graduates of previous years have passed the July session of the Romanian Baccalaureate, as shown by the first preliminary official results made public by the Romanian Education Ministry. Over 187,000 students enrolled in the exam. The Baccalaureate this year was marred by a series of fraud attempts, dismantled by exam supervisors, and in some cases even by police officers.

Prior to the exam, the Education Ministry had warned it would show zero tolerance to any bribe and fraud attempt, also setting up a special toll-free line and a web page where the general public could file a notification in that respect. Multiple fraud cases were reported in high schools across the country, and the authorities have launched full-scale investigations.

The most notorious and headline-grabbing of these cases was a scandal at the “Dimitrie Bolintineanu” high school in Bucharest, where suspicions of fraud surfaced during the written exam. Over 100 students are suspected of having bribed teachers to help them pass the exam. After the scandal made headlines, the headmaster of the high school in question was put on preemptive arrest for 29 days.

The Prosecutor’s Office and the Bucharest Police Force had conflicting reactions to the incident. The Prosecutor’s office initially announced there had been no warrants for taking any student into custody, but merely citations. On the other hand, the police claimed the Prosecutor’s Office had signed and issued such warrants. Two buses were sent to the high school to pick up the students, which triggered quarreling between the authorities and the parents of students suspected of fraud. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has blamed the whole thing on Interior Minister Radu Stroe, demanding an explanation.

Beyond these objectionable incidents however, the results of this year’s Baccalaureate exam are better than last year’s. The success rate this year stands at 55% at national level, as compared to 43% in 2012. Although this may seem surprising and leave room for moderate optimism, the success rate has dropped dramatically in the last two years, mainly as a result of the Education Ministry introducing unprecedented monitoring and control mechanisms during the written exams.

On the other hand, the high success rate in the July 2013 session shows a higher level of preparation and determination among young people in order to pass this important maturity exam.

The final results of a census conducted in October 2011 confirm the fact that Romania’s population has dropped since the previous census carried out a decade earlier. There are currently 20.1 million people residing in Romania, which is 1.5 less than in 2002. The main cause for this decrease is economic migration. The president of the National Statistical Office, Tudorel Andrei explains:

Tudorel Andrei: “Migration is the most important factor that contributed to population decline. Almost 77% of this decline can be explained by migration abroad. There is also a natural cause. We all know that in this period, even if life expectancy has increased, the birth rate has dropped significantly.”

The latest census also provides information about the scope of migration. Thus, more than 700,000 people polled in 2011 left abroad for at least one year, but this figure is thought to account for only one third of the real figure, says the president of the National Statistical Office.

Apart from this aspect, the other findings of the census do not reflect any major changes. Ethnic Romanians make up for 89% of the country’s population, so the Orthodox denomination is still dominant. In terms of ethnic groups, the largest ethnic population after the Romanians is the ethnic Hungarian population with 6.5% and the Roma population with 3.3%.

Also, women make up for around 51% of the country’s population and 54% of Romanians live in an urban environment. With almost 1.9 million inhabitants, the capital city Bucharest is still the country’s biggest city. In terms of age groups, children under 14 only account for 16% of the population, while the 25-64 age group accounts for 56%. More than 16 million people are over 18 years of age.

According to another finding, the country’s population is older compared to the previous census, which fuels concerns about a discouraging economic ratio between the active population and pensioners. One positive finding is that the population is, however, more educated. In the last 10 years, the number of higher education graduates has doubled from 7 to 14%.

The first reaction after the publication of the results of the 2011 census came from a politician and was, as expected, political. Prime minister Victor Ponta said the confirmed decline in population confirms that last summer’s referendum to impeach president Traian Basescu, which required 50% of the total number of voters, was in fact valid. In response, the president accused the prime minister of irresponsible behaviour and recalled the census only includes a part of the Romanian voters living abroad. The dispute not only comes too late, but is also irrelevant, because the figures taken into account by the Constitutional Court when it ruled that the referendum is not valid reflected the number of registered voters. The fact that the lists of registered voters should be updated is an entirely different matter.

On Monday, the Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Javad Mottaghi, visited Radio Romania. During the talks he had with Ovidiu Miculescu, President and CEO of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and other members of the leading board, Mr. Mottaghi hailed Radio Romania’s recent affiliation to this organization and stressed the basic principles of the Union, focusing on cultural diversity and the role of radio as an essential means of communication, capable of overcoming any differences.

Mr. Javad Mottaghi also expressed the Union’s interest in the Radio Romania products and Radio Romania’s high potential for developing joint projects with the countries in the Asia Pacific area. He gave as an example the organization of new concerts of the National Radio Orchestra in the Asian area, following the excellent impact of the concert given by the Radio Orchestra in Shanghai in May this year.

Mr. Ovidiu Miculescu, Chairman and CEO of Radio Romania, also stressed the importance of this partnership for the public radio in Romania, which thus aims at taking a step forward towards overcoming distances and getting to know the cultural specific features of the countries members of the Union. Through the Asia-Pacific online platform, to which it has access as a full member, Radio Romania will capitalize on the opportunity to exchange programs with other member stations.

Prior to the meeting held at the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, Dr. Javad Mottaghi, accompanied by Mr. Ovidiu Miculescu, had a meeting with the Speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Zgonea. During the meeting hosted by the Parliament Palace, Dr. Javad Mottaghi stressed the importance of Radio Romania’s joining the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, as membership to this ‘select group’ gives the public radio access to the online platform that has a target of 3.5 billion listeners. Mr. Ovidiu Miculescu said that Radio Romania thus found a new way towards promoting Romanian culture and values.

Dr. Javad Mottahi has been Secretary General of ABU since 2010 and has a 32 year-long experience in the field of media/communication, at both national and international level. He is a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Department of Sharif University in Teheran, has a Master’s Degree and also a PhD degree in management, awarded by the Teesside University in England. Before joining ABU, he was for 12 years the Director of the Asia — Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development and responsible for the ABA-ABU relations until 1996. Also, he was for 18 years director of the Sports Department of IRIB, the public radio of the Republic of Iran. He is a member of WRTVC’s board and associated member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in New York. Javad Mottaghi got the Elizabeth R. Award for his exceptional contribution to the development of public radio and television.

Established in 1964, ABU has 255 members from 63 countries, both public and private stations from Asia, Pacific, Europe, America and the Middle East, with an audience of over 3,5 billion listeners. ABU collaborates with many public and private radio stations in Europe, such as the BBC, DW, CFI, ZDF and RAI, but also from Russia, Turkey, Samoa, New Zealand. The ABU members have ensured access to the Union’s Asia — Pacific digital platform, developed and supported by KBS — the South-Korean radio and television network -as a practical means of working directly with listeners, advertising agencies and partners from around the world. ABUT organizes every year the General Assembly, with 600 managers from all over the world, the Radio Asia Forum, enjoying the participation of over 500 people every year, and also many events such as the Digital Audio-Visual Symposium (with over 700 participants and over 100 exhibitors of advanced technology), the Radio Song Festival as well as the annual ABU Awards Gala. ABU also takes part in project development, co-productions and exchanges of programs, as well as training sessions and international webinars.

Lithuania has turned a new page of its history. This is how the media in Vilnius presented the take over, by the small Baltic state, of the EU rotating presidency. This is the first presidency for Lithuania, a country of 3.2 million people, which joined the Union in 2004. It is also the first Baltic state to take the EU stint.The two other former Soviet republics, Latvia and Estonia, will assume their presidential duties in the first half of 2015 and in the first half of 2018 respectively. The Lithuanian Presidency is also the first of a 28 strong Union, after Croatia’s recent EU accession.

Lithuania “is prepared”, the country’s president Dalia Grybauskaite has said, while the domestic media has recalled that the Lithuanian presidency needs to take some important and quick decisions, expected by the whole of Europe. The context is not simple at all. Lithuania assumes its presidency in the final period of the mandate of the European Commission and the European Parliament. As far as the European agenda is concerned, it is a very busy one, also including issues inherited from the previous presidencies.

According to EUobserver, a record 563 dossiers, mostly economic ones, will have to be managed by the Lithuanian presidency. Although not a member of the euro zone, Lithuania was more successful than other EU countries in overcoming the economic crisis. That is why the Lithuanian authorities believe it will bring a breeze of fresh air into the European family. On the one hand, it will have to push though provisions related to the implementation of the 2014-2020 budget.

Issues such as economic growth, curbing the growing unemployment rate and strengthening public finances have to be addressed and negotiations on the trade accord with the US must be further conducted. Special attention will be paid to the Eastern Partnership, during a summit due in Vilnius, in November, which is expected to initial the association agreement with the Republic of Moldova and make a recommandation regarding the liberalization of the visa regime for Moldovans.

Another sensitive issue is Romania’s and Bulgaria’s acession to the Schengen area. Sooner or later it will be solved, Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite has said reffering to this issue, because, although there are still questions to be solved, there is a political will for that. The European Commission has clearly underlined the issues that need to be dealt with, so Romania and Blgaria know exactly what they have to do, the Vilnius authorities explained, recalling that all EU member states need to agree to the two countries’ Schengen accession, including those that are still reticent about it.

July has not brought in good news for Romanians, as a series of products have become more expensive. The price of gas has gone up by 8% for domestic consumers and by 3% for industrial consumers. Experts say the increase in the gas price will have repercussions on the entire food industry. Producers have already announced higher prices for milk and meat, by up to 15% by the end of the year.

Perhaps in an attempt to compensate for these price hikes, the Romanian government has increased the gross minimum wage by 50 lei to reach 800 lei per month. This increase will benefit over 677,000 employees in the private sector and all public sector employees. Is, however, this increase, enough to cover the impact of the new price rises? The vice-president of the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts in Romania, Ionut Dumitru:

Ionut Dumitru: “I don’t know if the negative impact on the purchasing power may be offset by this increase in the minimum wage, given that salary increases in general, whether minimum or average salaries, have a positive impact on the economy only if they are based on an increase in productivity. If we look at the productivity levels in Romania, I’m not sure the increase in the minimum wage, which will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the average wages as well, can be justified by an increase in productivity. Under the circumstances, I don’t think we can expect a positive effect in terms of the people’s purchasing power.”

The increase in prices is accompanied by an increase in traffic fines, which will stand between 150 and 1,600 lei for private persons and up to 8.000 lei for legal persons. Water and sewerage costs will also go up across the country by 4 to 10%, depending on each local authority. One piece of good news is that mobile roaming services across the European Union, including Romania, will be cheaper, in keeping with the new regulations adopted last year by the European Parliament.

The 21st edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival is held between September 1 and 28, with 150 music, opera and ballet events in Bucharest and other cities.

The festival has been held every other year since 1958, and bears the name of the most influential Romanian composer. The artistic director of the festival is again Romanian born Ioan Hollander, the former director of the Vienna Opera. The Romanian public radio and television are co-producers.

The headliners are famous names in symphonic music passionate about Enescu. You can find out details from our broadcasts, website or Facebook profile. The events have been designed around themes such as ‘Great World Orchestras’, “Chamber Concerts and Recitals”, “Midnight Concerts”, “Enescu and His Contemporaries”, “21st Century Music”, “World Music”, “Opera and Ballet”.

The 2014 “George Enescu” International Contest, traditionally held alongside the festival of the same name, has been postponed by the Romanian government and is now scheduled for September 2014, in order to maintain its high standards under difficult financial circumstances.

RRI will also be holding a prize-winning contest, where winners will earn gifts related to Enescu’s music in particular, but also to Romanian culture in general. The contest is sponsored by Oltenia Energy Complex, and is also supported by the “George Enescu” National Museum, “Monitorul Oficial” (the Official Gazette), “Casa Radio” Publishers, the European Commission representative office in Romania, and the “Euro Foto Art” Association of Oradea.

George Enescu, one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, and one of its most valuable violin virtuosos, who also conducted and taught music, was born on 19 August 1881 in Liveni, Botosani County, in northeastern Romania. He is best known for his opera ‘Oedipus’, his three symphonies, his compositions for camera ensembles and lieder.

RRI’s contest consists of four questions related to the composer and the festival dedicated to him, to be answered by 30 September 2013 mailing date.

The questions are:

– When was George Enescu born?

– Which edition of the festival is being held in 2013?

– Name three compositions by Enescu.

– Who is Ioan Hollander?

Your answers are expected by mail, fax, e-mail, or on Facebook, and we kindly ask contenders to also tell us what prompted them to take part in the contest.

As always, our contact data are: Radio Romania International, 60-64 G-ral Berthelot Street, sector 1, Bucuresti, PO Box 111, postal code 0101171, fax 00.40.21.319.05.62, e-mail engl@rri.ro.

Send in your answers by 30 September 2013 mailing date. We will be announcing the winners in the second half of October. Best of luck!

A number of times in the past, Romania has resorted to loans from the International Monetary Fund when it needed to. The latest such stand-by agreement was signed in the spring of 2011 as an extension of a previous deal signed 2009, and was due to end in March this year. However, the International Monetary Fund board approved a request by the authorities in Bucharest to extend the agreement by three months, until the end of June, to allow the government to reduce arrears and take measures to improve the management of state-owned companies.

On Wednesday, the Fund took note of the two final assessment reports on its agreement with Romania and decided to make available a last instalment of 520 million euros. The 5 billion euro stand-by agreement is of a precautionary type and Bucharest did not have to access any of these funds. But while Romania has successfully completed its second stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund, its growth rate is still feeble and the economy still faces risks, said the Fund’s deputy director Nemat Shafik. Ms Shafik warned that structural reforms are critical for Romania to achieve its growth potential and create new jobs, while financial discipline is essential to macroeconomic stability. At the same time, the International Monetary Fund recalls that the significant fiscal adjustment operated after 2009 has allowed Romania to exit the EU excessive deficit procedure in June. The Fund has noted that all important targets have been met, said the minister delegate for budget, Liviu Voinea, who added that this is a good signal for Romania on international markets. One of the targets included in the stand-by agreement was the reduction of state budget arrears and the privatisation of the freight division of the Romanian Railway Company, a state company with big losses and debts.

With the latest agreement with the Fund now over, the authorities in Bucharest are now considering signing a new deal. Romania’s former International Monetary Fund representative and currently the vice-president of the European Investment Bank, Mihai Tanasescu, believes a new deal with the Fund is in the country’s best interest:

“I’m convinced that a new partnership with the International Monetary Fund is an anchor of stability for Romania’s economy and something that can bring about an acceleration of structural reforms.”

The finance minister Daniel Chitoiu says the Romanian authorities will contact the representatives of the Fund in July to set the date of their next visit to Romania for the signing of a new agreement.

On June 26th, Romania usually celebrates Flag Day. This year, however, festivities have been replaced by mourning, as 47 families are grieving for their dead or waiting in front of hospitals for news about their loved ones. The Romanian Government declared Wednesday a day of national mourning in memory of the victims of the terrible accident that occurred in Montenegro on Sunday, when a bus full of tourists swayed off a bridge and crushed into a deep ravine.

In an extraordinary display of solidarity, Montenegro also decided to take a similar decision to commemorate the victims. Romanians will not forget the long queues of locals offering to donate blood for those in need, or those who ignored the danger and climbed down the ravine to help the wounded, not only rescuers, but also ordinary people. The State Secretary with the Romanian Health Ministry, Raed Arafat, talked about this extraordinary show of solidarity in an interview to our station.

Raed Arafat: “The very moment the Prime Minister ordered the deployment of an assessment team to site place of the accident, which included representatives of the Foreign Ministry, I went there too. Collaboration with doctors there and the Montenegrin authorities was exemplary. The Health Minister was there with us every day and visited patients in hospital for us to decide the next steps together. The Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean was received by the Montenegrin President and by the Prime Minister, so I can tell you that the official reaction was extremely positive and supportive.”

On Tuesday, till late at night, the wounded, who were initially hospitalised in the capital of Montenegro, Podgoritsa, were brought back home by Romanian military planes to receive medical care in Bucharest. Another aircraft brought the bodies of the deceased. The extent of the medical operation in the aftermath of the accident is unprecedented, given the complexity of the case and the large number of casualties. It was the largest operation ever staged in Romania with the help of the army. In total, three aircraft and some 40 doctors and nurses were mobilised for the return home of the 47 victims.

While for the families of the victims, the tragic accident on Sunday will be a dark memory forever, for Romania and Montenegro it is proof that these two countries, 1,000 km apart, share common values of solidarity and respect for life.